Display advertising had almost been written off when native advertising made its mark against a backdrop of controversy.

While commentators wrangled over how wide a church-state gap was necessary between advertiser and editorial to skirt ethical issues, both advertisers and publishers assiduously collaborated on native campaigns for one simple reason: They work. By creating advertising that suits the consumption patterns, functionality, topical focus and format of its context, advertisers gave users substantial reason to engage.

Native advertising has grown by leaps and bounds, but why hasn’t it knocked out the lowly banner? It has not reached scale, whereas banner advertising, whether direct or via RTB, enjoys almost limitless application and scope. Programmatic has only reduced friction and enhanced targeting. Native ads might be worth caring about, but the lack of scalability has rendered them a niche player.

Not much has been said about Atlas since Facebook purchased the advertising suite from Microsoft last year. However, a new partnership with cloud-based cross-platform advertising company Flite could help Facebook advertisers deliver better results off the site.

Flite announced Wednesday that the company has partnered with Atlas to offer customers an innovative new solution for display advertising. The Flite Design Studio, which specializes in real-time content advertising, will be integrated into Atlas’ ad-server solution.

Flite became one of the first companies to integrate with Atlas via a direct application-programming interface, and Atlas advertisers will now have access to Flite Design Studio and its Web-based design tools for building HTML5 and Flash ads for desktop and mobile.

Rich media platform Flite is partnering with Atlas to allow advertisers using the ad-serving and measurement service to more easily create ads that run across multiple screens.Under the agreement, Flite is integrating its browser-based Design Studio platform for building HTML5 ads that work across desktop and mobile screens into the ad-server using the Atlas API (application programming interface). Besides providing more ad creative options, the aim is to simplify the workflow from ad development to analytics.

Facebook hasn't said much about Atlas in the year since buying it, but it has been making incremental tweaks to the product. Today it took a bigger step, launching a creative partner program with rich media vendors Innovid and Flite. The deal will let Atlas's agency customers more easily integrate rich media into their campaigns, both from a trafficking and reporting standpoint.

According to Erik Johnson, the Facebook executive in charge of Atlas, the deal "signals to the marketplace our partner friendly approach to the broader ecosystem." Future partner integrations are likely to be announced around search and analytics, Johnson said, but he declined to go into details.